


Mirror Mirror

by Shel_Kim



Category: Super Junior, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Police, Angst, Blood and Violence, Bottom Kim Taehyung | V, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Comfort Sex, Crimes & Criminals, Drama, Drama & Romance, Drug Dealing, Drug Use, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Established Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Gang Rape, Gang Violence, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, One-Sided Attraction, Organized Crime, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Police, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Jeon Jungkook, Psychological Torture, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Tension, Smut, Suspense, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Thriller, Torture, Undercover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-06-24 11:58:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19723222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shel_Kim/pseuds/Shel_Kim
Summary: Following the accidental death of a cartel leader's sister, a police precinct in Gangnam find themselves the target of a revenge ploy constructed by one of the most notorious criminal cartels; the Bangtan Boys. In order to stay one step ahead of the vicious group, a decision is made to send in rookie cop Jeon Jungkook as an undercover informant, knowing he has a past with the Bangtan Boys. While undercover, Jungkook must choose once and for all whose side he really belongs to; his dark past or his reformed present.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a spinoff of my last two crime stories Entangled in a Spider's Web & Chasing Ashes. The reason I say spinoff is because you don't have to read the first two stories to understand this one; but if still want to, I welcome any new readers! 
> 
> This is my first BTS centric story, and I've put in over a year of planning and researching to make this absolutely perfect for you guys. I hope everyone enjoys, and is emotionally prepared for a rollercoaster of emotions! 

_“A day may come when we lose. But it’s not today; today we fight.”_

\- Not Today (2017)

Staring down into the freshly dug hole; Kim Namjoon solemnly gazed at the top of his sister’s casket as raindrops bounced off with a soft thump. She deserved better than this. Kyung-min deserved the world after what she and her brother had gone through in childhood; but forces beyond them thought otherwise, and she was taken in an untimely manner. What she had been doing in that part of Gangnam when that car bomb had gone off, Namjoon still didn’t know, and now more than likely would never know. His younger sister, his pride and joy, the one person he swore to protect from anymore trauma had been ripped away from Namjoon; and the police were doing nothing about it. The car bombing incident had been quickly labeled as a ‘cold case’, something Namjoon wasn’t taking well at all. One of the suspects had been killed in a standoff, and he could appreciate that, but the other assailant was missing, and the police had made no effort in continuing their manhunt for his sister’s murderer. They had denied Kyung-min and the other victims their justice. “I will make them wish they had never stopped looking for him,” Namjoon whispered as he tossed a white rose down on top of the casket. Turning to the five other men standing there with him; Namjoon said in a louder tone, “My sister died because of the police’s incompetence; this is more than unacceptable to me, I want every single fucking one of them dead.”

“Namjoon, you know we can’t kill an entire precinct; it would jeopardize everything we’ve worked hard to build, everything _you_ started,” Kim Seokjin reminded. “You know your sister wouldn’t have wanted you to retaliate so strongly.”

“Jin, shut the fuck up, what the fuck do you know what Kyung-min would’ve wanted?” Min Yoongi snapped. 

“Because she was a very pacifistic person Suga, you know this, and fuck you for telling me to shut up; no decency even at a funeral, how very normal of you,” Jin responded, trying to keep his composure.

“Decency? You wanna talk about decency Jin?” Yoongi started as he turned his whole body to face Jin.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Park Jimin muttered as he took a step back, knowing how Yoongi usually reacted.

“Suga, it’s not a good time to –” Kim Taehyung quietly said, trying to calm down Yoongi, placing his hand on his arm.

“Fuck off me,” Yoongi gritted, yanking his arm away from Taehyung, causing the blonde to lower his head submissively. “The most decent thing we can do is punish the fucking people who allowed this to happen to Namjoon’s sister. We have the power and the resources to make it happen, who the fuck is gonna stop us?! But no, you always wanna fucking stand back and pussyfoot around because you don’t have the balls to take action when something goes awry!”

“Hey!” Namjoon firmly thundered, causing the five to slightly flinch at their leader’s voice. “I will not tolerate this behavior from anyone in front of my sister, is that understood?!”

“Yes Namjoon,” the others confirmed apologetically.

Taking a deep breath, Namjoon turned to face Yoongi and Jin. “Suga, I know you’re passionate about wanting to retaliate against people who wrong us; but that is no excuse to yell at and insult your friend. We are a team; we are brothers, it’s been us against the world since childhood, and it will always be that way, so quit arguing about bullshit. Suga, I said what I said because I am angry and in no way emotionally capable of making rash decisions right now. That’s why Jin said what he said; he knows when I get this way, I have to hear rational thinking before I make a poor decision that could ruin our lives. I’ve lost my sister, and I’ll be damned if I lose my brothers too. So yes, we will retaliate, but we will be smart about it,” Namjoon informed. The six stood there silently for a few moments while Yoongi continued taking angry breaths, trying to calm down.

“What is the smartest decision Namjoon?” Jung Hoseok wondered.

“I don’t know J-Hope, but when we figure that out, the police will wish that they had never fucked over Bangtan,” Namjoon promised. “Let’s get back to the house and formulate a plan.” As the others began walking back to their cars, Namjoon hesitated and looked down at Kyung-min’s casket one final time. “Everything will work out, I swear it will,” Namjoon quietly said before turning to join his friends.

*****************

“How have you enjoyed your first week in the 18th Precinct Jungkook?” Detective Shim Changmin inquired as he joined the rookie cop at their respective desks.

“I really like it here in Gangnam,” Jungkook confirmed with a grin on his face. “I mean I sometimes miss the Busan Precinct, but you guys have really helped me adjust.”

“And it’ll take time for you to adjust on your own, but I think you’ve done really well in your first week with us,” Changmin replied.

“Yeah, you really helped us out a lot with our most recent cases,” IT specialist Im Yoona added as she walked up.

“Yeah rookie, you’ve done well,” Detective Choi Siwon complimented, joining his fellow detectives at their desks. “A lot of officers can’t handle the stress of this precinct.”

“Thanks guys, that means a lot to me,” Jungkook responded, feeling his face grow warm with accomplishment.

A few moments later, inside his office, 18th Precinct Captain Kim Kangin was handling some paperwork when a knock rattled against his door. “Come in,” he requested.

The door opened up, and in walked the officer who worked at the precinct’s front desk. “There’s a package for you sir,” the officer informed, setting the small box down on the captain’s desk.

“Alright, thank you,” Kangin replied. Looking carefully at the box, Kangin noticed that there was no return address on it, making him suspicious already. Grabbing a box cutter, the captain slowly cut along the packaging tape before opening up the flaps. To his relief, the only thing inside was a picture, a folded piece of paper, and what looked to be a burnt toy car. “What the hell?” he mumbled under his breath, as he picked up the charred car. Putting it back in the box, Kangin then picked up the picture, and saw it was a school photo of a girl; something about this girl seemed familiar, like he had seen her face recently. Moving onto the last content in the box, Kangin picked up the paper and unfolded it, revealing a letter addressed to the precinct:

_Dear 18 th Precinct, _

_It has come to my attention that you have all given up on finding my sister’s murderer, instead labeling it a ‘cold case’. I want you to know, my sister, Kim Kyung-min is NOT just a case, she was a real person, with a loving family and friends, and the fact that you are disrespecting her memory by allowing her murderer to go free is completely unacceptable. Now because you have chosen to not do your jobs properly, you have earned the complete rage and distrust of not just myself, but of my entire organization. Be forewarned that you refuse to cooperate and allow my sister’s murderer to continue to walk free; I will make sure you regret it, that is not a threat, but a promise. Think long and hard about your decision, it may cost your officers their lives._

_Kim Namjoon_

Closing the paper, the captain stood up and opened his office door. “Siwon, Changmin, Yoona, Jungkook, come in here please,” Kangin requested.

The four detectives got to their feet and headed over to the captain’s office. “What is it sir?” Changmin wondered.

“Close the door,” Kangin muttered as he sat down at his desk.

Siwon closed the door before asking “Is everything alright captain?”

“I just received this package with an unmarked return address. Inside was a burnt toy car, a picture of this girl, and a letter addressed to the precinct,” Kangin informed, handing the letter to the detectives. Yoona took it and opened it back up, allowing herself and the three others to read the message that Namjoon had sent.

“His sister was one of the victims in the car bombing incident, I recognize her face,” Changmin said.

“Oh wow, only twenty one years old, so young,” Yoona commented.

“Jungkook, are you alright?” Changmin questioned, noticing Jungkook’s stoic, frozen expression as the raven haired Korean detective stared intensely at the letter.

“I know Kim Namjoon,” he muttered, almost inaudibly.

“You what?” Siwon asked.

Jungkook swallowed and repeated “I know who Kim Namjoon is.”


	2. Chapter 2

_“In this rough life . . . You must come back home.”_

\- Come Back Home (2017)

“I know who Kim Namjoon is,” Jungkook confessed, eyes still glued to the letter.

Changmin, Yoona, and Siwon stood there shocked and silent, before Kangin quickly rushed them over to one of the conference rooms, closing the door and the shades as well. “Wait here,” Kangin requested before leaving the room.

The four detectives sat at the table, still very confused by what was going on. “Jungkook,” Yoona said, causing the raven haired Korean to look over at her. “How do you know him?”

His heart was pounding; Jungkook didn’t want the others to know how he was acquainted with Namjoon, he had left that life behind him. “I –” Jungkook started before the captain reentered the room, holding several files. Jungkook breathed a sigh of relief, he could prolong answering the question for a little longer.

“Kim Namjoon, at age 26, he is already one of richest men in all of Korea, if not all of Asia,” Kangin informed as the other detectives looked down at the records in front of them. “Makes his money running three of the most successful clubs in Korea, donates millions of won every year to charities devoted to helping abused children, he even sends money across seas to help organizations that help people recover from drug abuse.”

There’s more to it than that though, Jungkook thought to himself, remembering just exactly how Namjoon got all that money.

“However, despite all his good works, Namjoon has been arrested several times over the past few years for alleged bribery, murder, money laundering, kidnapping, assault and battery, and intimidation,” Kangin continued.

“But he’s never been convicted of any of these charges?” Siwon questioned.

“No,” Kangin confirmed. “There was never any physical evidence to convict, so the courts always ruled in Namjoon’s favor, even criticizing the police for slandering Namjoon’s good character with baseless allegations. Because of all this, serious rumors were spread about Namjoon and the five that help him.”

Jungkook’s head immediately shot up. “What kind of rumors?” Changmin wondered.

“The most popular rumor is that Namjoon and his team are actually a drug cartel, running an illegal operation using their clubs as a cover to hide the drugs; other precincts have tried to debunk this rumor, but whenever they send in an undercover agent, the officer turns up missing or hospitalized,” Kangin explained. “Apparently, the team calls themselves, the Bangtan Boys.”

Jungkook swallowed roughly, before asking “Can someone please explain to me the whole story of how Namjoon’s sister was killed?”

The other three detectives looked at Kangin. “Right, you weren’t part of the team yet, so you don’t know what happened,” Kangin muttered. “Go ahead and tell him.”

“About a month ago, when we were still searching for serial killer duo Cho Kyuhyun and Kim Jong-woon, before they made their way down to Busan, they set off a bomb outside the precinct, a car bomb, it killed the prosecutor who had been assigned the case, and sadly, the blast also injured and killed a few civilians who were unfortunate enough to be in the line of fire, Kim Kyung-min was one of them,” Changmin informed slowly.

“I remember Cho Kyuhyun being killed during the confrontation in Busan, but what happened to Kim Jong-woon, was he not arrested after being released from the hospital?” Jungkook inquired.

“Jungkook, what I’m about to tell you, it cannot leave this room; the five of us are the only ones who know this, understood?” Kangin said.

“Yes sir,” Jungkook replied.

“You’re aware that during the case, Kim Jong-woon was suffering from retrograde amnesia; during the aftermath, we found out that his memory had been restored and he regretted everything that Kyuhyun had manipulated him into doing. On top of that, Kim Ryeowook, the one who was suffering from Stockholm syndrome and had fallen for him, begged that he not go to jail, out of fear that Jong-woon’s separation from him might trigger Jong-woon’s urge to kill again. In a desperate attempt to put the case to rest, Detective Lee Donghae sent them out of the country, telling the two to begin a new life with a new identity; so they did. So yes, on the record it shows that Kim Jong-woon is still missing at large, off the record, we sent him away,” Kangin explained.

Jungkook sat there in disbelief. “Why would you guys do something like that? Is that why Detective Lee quit, because of a guilty conscious? I can see why, probably wanted to hide away out of fear of the public finding out at what he did,” Jungkook muttered.

“Detective Jeon,” Kangin stated firmly, causing Jungkook to look up at the captain. “Detective Lee resigned because he was forced to murder his cousin in self-defense. Now before you pass judgement on a detective you barely know, think to yourself, if I watched a person I love die, and I was the cause of it, how would you respond to it? Detective Lee did what he thought was right, that case left him with PTSD and he wanted to get away from the police lifestyle before it destroyed him.”

“Yes sir, I meant no disrespect,” Jungkook quietly apologized. “I just don’t understand why you guys chose to let Kim Jong-woon go free.”

“Because we trusted him for years before we knew what he really was,” Siwon informed. “He was our friend, one of the most brilliant IT workers here; Jong-woon was close to us, but he was closest to Donghae. When you’re close like that for so long, you almost don’t want to believe that they can be evil, and even when the evidence is presented, after that false reality is shattered, you still have this sliver of hope that that reality still exists, and you want to do what you can to preserve that. That was Donghae, he still believed in Jong-woon, he still believed he was a good person that just got caught up on a bad path. That’s why he helped Jong-woon escape, that’s why we went along with it; we wanted to believe that if he was out of the country living a normal life, he wouldn’t harm anyone again.”

“And so far, nothing has happened,” Yoona added. “Jong-woon left with Kim Ryeowook and they started a new life in America under new names. We don’t know what their new names are and we don’t know their location, and honestly, I think it’s better that way.”

“However, Kim Namjoon doesn’t think so,” Changmin commented. “What should we do? Do you guys really think Kim Namjoon would try something drastic?”

“Yes,” Jungkook answered almost immediately. “Namjoon is very calculated and meticulous, every move he makes, there’s a reason for it; he’ll spend months constructing foolproof plans, making sure there’s no room for error. He’s extremely intelligent, thinking about every possible outcome from every angle.”

“How long have you known him?” Kangin questioned.

The raven haired detective took a deep breath. It was finally time to confess what he knew. “We grew up together in the same Daegu neighborhood, it was me, him, and five other boys, all around similar ages. We bonded at a young age, around six or seven years old; for about twelve years it was just the seven of us. No one else seemed to really care for us, our parents abused drugs, alcohol, and us; kids at school would ignore or bully us, so we relied on one another. Since I was the youngest, Namjoon always looked out for me the most, saying I had a lot of potential. Because of our treatment at a young age, we ended up doing some real shady shit as we got older, but I don’t want to get into that. At eighteen I decided to leave Daegu and move to Busan where I immediately enlisted in the army, and afterwards went straight into the police academy. I saw the path that Namjoon and the others were going down, and I wanted no part of that. I haven’t spoken to Namjoon or anyone else from Daegu in almost five years,” Jungkook explained slowly.

Now it was out in the open; Jungkook looked at his fellow officers and saw their expressions of shock and awe. “Do you ever sometimes wish you had stayed, after seeing how successful they seem to have become?” Changmin curiously asked.

“Sometimes I wish I had stayed,” Jungkook confirmed. “Not for the money or the success, but because I had to leave someone I loved very much.”

“When you said that you, Namjoon, and the others got into doing shady stuff as you got older, what did you mean?” Kangin inquired. Seeing Jungkook’s hesitation, the captain continued, “Jungkook, it’s important that you tell us everything so that we know the best way to approach the situation.”

Taking a deep breath, Jungkook revealed “We sold drugs, mostly marijuana and cocaine. One day, out of the blue, Namjoon gathered the seven of us together and said he figured out a way for us to get out of the poor life and into something better, and that selling drugs was the fastest way to do it. We never questioned where Namjoon got the drugs from, he would give us different places to sell at, depending on what our strengths were; I had a very open, likeable personality, so Namjoon would send me to social events around the community or places where large groups of people would always congregate. After a while, we started to become rivals with other drug dealers, often leading to us having to resort to violence. During our first fight, one of my friends was injured by a gunshot, next thing I know, Namjoon is having us learn everything about how to use and shoot guns. It became too much for me too fast, so I left before I got myself killed.”

“If that’s true, then more than likely they’re still selling drugs,” Siwon figured. “If this guy is as smart as you claim he is, it’s very possible their millions are earned through drug money.”

“And with the years of experience, they’ve managed to perfect a flawless cover for their operation,” Changmin added.

“Almost flawless,” Kangin corrected. “No matter how perfect something may seem, there’s always a crack, regardless of how miniscule it may be. The key is finding something that can slip in and shatter it.”

“What do you suggest we do sir?” Yoona wondered.

“We need to send someone undercover into their organization to get every bit of evidence possible, to put these guys away for life, physical evidence, confessions, anything about how their money is made and how they plan to retaliate against our precinct. We need to make sure we stay a step ahead of them,” Kangin said before looking directly at Jungkook. “And I think Detective Jeon is the perfect person to send in.”

Jungkook gazed up at the captain. “Sir, I haven’t seen them in five years, I don’t know how they’ll respond to seeing me again,” Jungkook replied.

“Create a reasonable excuse to explain your long absence,” Kangin suggested. “You said yourself that you have a very likeable personality and that that was seen as a strength, now’s the time to use it. Get them to trust and open up to you.”

Sighing, Jungkook quietly asked “How long should I be there?”

“As long as you need,” Kangin stated.

*******

* _Three days later*_

Jungkook grasped a duffel bag in one hand as he walked up the steep, stone driveway that led to where Bangtan lived. After a few days of prepping, Jungkook felt nervous, yet confident in his undercover mission. With any luck, it’d only take a month to finish. Bangtan’s home was located on an isolated mountainside that overlooked the city of Gangnam; a giant, three story structure, Jungkook guessing it had to be close to twenty thousand square feet in size, with massive glass walls, that Jungkook knew had to be there to see any oncoming trespassers. Knowing there had to be more security, Jungkook’s speculation was proved whenever he reached about the length of a football field between himself and the house, he reached a barrier and two large guards on either side of the driveway. “What is your name and business of being here?” one of the guards demanded while the other one began searching Jungkook’s duffel bag for anything suspicious.

“My name is Jeon Jungkook, and I’m here to talk to Kim Namjoon,” Jungkook said.

“What is your business with Mr. Kim?” the guard continued.

“I grew up with him and came to offer my condolences involving the recent passing of his sister Kyung-min,” Jungkook added.

“Stay right there,” the guard instructed before turning away to talk on his radio. After a moment of waiting, the guard returned and said “Right up the driveway, Mr. Kim says to go on inside, he will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you,” Jungkook quietly responded before continuing his trek up the stone path. Upon reaching the house, Jungkook reached for the handle on one of the giant double doors that served as entry, surprised by how heavy it was considering the door looked to be made of wood. Stepping inside, Jungkook was immediately taken aback by how modern and sleek the home was; dark charcoal walls, mahogany wood floors, a large winding staircase that seemed to float in the middle of the entryway, leading up to the upper levels.

As Jungkook stood there nervously waiting for Namjoon to appear, the raven haired Korean heard echoing footsteps approach from his right, turning to see who was coming. Jungkook froze as the person appeared before him, gasping audibly upon seeing Jungkook. Gazing at one another in silence for a moment, the blonde Korean seemed close to tears as he quietly said “J-Jungkook?”

“Taehyung,” Jungkook breathed as he felt his body start to shake.

Before Jungkook or Taehyung could say another word, suddenly Yoongi emerged from the same direction Taehyung had come from. “There you are, I told you not –” he started before laying his eyes on Jungkook. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to Namjoon,” Jungkook replied.

“You got a lot of balls showing up here after abandoning us like you did,” Yoongi said as he started walking towards Jungkook slowly. “Why are you really here?”

“I told you, I’m here to talk to Namjoon,” Jungkook repeated, this time in a firmer voice.

“Oh, someone got a little brave while they were away; five years ago you would’ve never talked to me in that tone,” Yoongi noticed.

“A lot has changed since then Suga,” Jungkook reminded. “I’m not the scrawny kid you used to belittle anymore.”

“You think just because you went off and got this new build that I’m supposed to be intimidated by you? This doesn’t do shit for me, I’ve fought fuckers way bigger than you and won,” Yoongi said.

“Alright, whatever Suga,” Jungkook disregarded, wanting to turn his focus back to Taehyung.

Before he could, Yoongi shoved Jungkook backwards. “Don’t you dare fucking disrespect me like that you little shit. I can still beat the ever-loving fuck out of you if I choose to,” he growled. 

“Suga, please . . .” Taehyung quietly began only to immediately hold his breath as Yoongi turned to glare at him.

“Shut the fuck up, no one asked for your fucking input,” Yoongi snapped.

“Don’t fucking talk to him like that,” Jungkook demanded, standing up straighter, breath growing shaky with anger.

“Why, what the fuck are you gonna do, you little bitch?” Yoongi questioned.

“Suga, enough,” Namjoon ordered as he descended down the winding staircase, causing Yoongi to take a few steps back from Jungkook. “Leave us be for five minutes.”

Yoongi nodded reluctantly before lowly growling to Jungkook “This isn’t over.” He then grabbed Taehyung’s arm and yanked him away from the room, forcing him to turn away from Jungkook. The raven haired Korean sighed as Taehyung disappeared from his sight.

“Well, well, Jeon Jungkook, after all this time, you’ve finally returned,” Namjoon said with a smile across his face as he walked up to Jungkook and wrapped his arms around the younger Korean, hugging him tightly.

Jungkook nervously hugged him back before saying “It’s good to see you again Namjoon; I know it’s been awhile, but first and foremost, I heard about Kyung-min, I’m sorry for your loss, I know you two were really close.”

“Thank you, that means a lot coming from you,” Namjoon responded. “So tell me, just what has Jeon Jungkook been up to for the last five years?”

Now was the time for Jungkook’s ruse to begin. “Well when I left, I went straight to do my military service, I thought it would help me get a better understanding of military grade machinery and how they work as opposed to civilian grade guns like what we used,” Jungkook explained.

“I see,” Namjoon simply replied. “What about the remaining three years you were gone?”

“In that time I traveled around Korea doing a lot of self-reflecting. The military made me really think about if doing this was what I truly wanted to do for the rest of my life, and after confirming in my mind that I did, I wanted to come back, but I was scared that you wouldn’t want me back because of my long absence and sudden leaving,” Jungkook convincingly lied.

“I will admit that I was angry when you first left out of nowhere like that; Bangtan was just taking off, and I lost one of my strongest assets. But with time, I calmed down. I always knew you would come back home Jungkook, it’s where you belong, here with us,” Namjoon responded, placing a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “C’mon, I’ll show you around the house.”

Namjoon led Jungkook up the stairs, explaining “I had this place built about three and a half years ago, eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms, it’s virtually impenetrable. Guards at both entrances to the property, they must always check with one of us before letting anyone near the house, almost fifty security cameras watching from every possible angle with high powered resolution and facial recognition, floodlights that only come on when they detect even a trace of human body heat, bulletproof glass and doors, guns in secure, easy to reach places in case of emergency, and keycard entry to every room of the house. You can never be too secure in our line of work.”

“That’s true,” Jungkook quietly agreed as he and Namjoon reached the second level.

“This floor is where we monitor everything, and also hold occasional conferences with clients if needed, but only the most loyal ones,” Namjoon continued as they walked down the hall to one of the rooms. “And I’m pretty sure you know who takes care of all our internet and security measures.” Holding his keycard up to the black square that was underneath the handle, the two waited for the approved beep, before Namjoon opened the door, letting Jungkook inside. “Jin, look who’s here to see us.”

The brunette Korean stood up as Jungkook said “Hey Jin, long time no see.”

“Oh my god, Jungkook,” Jin happily responded as the two hugged one another. “I thought that was you on the cameras, but I thought there’s no way. How’ve you been, what are you doing back?”

“Jungkook has decided to come back home and rejoin Bangtan after some time away; make him a keycard for the house and add his facial recognition scan to the database so security doesn’t stop him again,” Namjoon instructed. “And go ahead and start an account in his name, I know Jungkook will want to start making money as soon as possible.”

“Alright no problem,” Jin replied before he returned to his desk of multiple computers and began typing away.

“Jin runs the security team, as well as all of our offshore accounts, our websites, everything that has to do with computers; you thought he was good years ago when he hacked into our high school system and changed everyone’s grades, he’s really stepped it up. Now Jin can hack into databases across the globe, run dark web operations without leaving traces, he’s absolutely brilliant at what he does,” Namjoon commented.

“Just what I love,” Jin said before handing a keycard to Namjoon.

“And I appreciate all you do,” Namjoon added, quickly giving Jin a wink, earning a subtle grin from the brunette. “C’mon Jungkook, you can see Jin later at dinner.”

“Thanks Jin,” Jungkook stated, taking the keycard from Namjoon, before following him out of the room as Jin smiled and nodded towards them.

“Second floor also has a balcony pool down at the very end of the hallway if you ever want to swim; it’s heated in the winter so you can use it all year,” Namjoon informed.

“Awesome, I’ll definitely check that out,” Jungkook agreed.

“Now the third floor is only accessible by one elevator, and the only way to access it is with the keycard,” Namjoon explained. “A little extra precaution to prevent possible assassination attempts while we sleep. Every room is also equipped with a tablet to access the cameras around the property at night, in case something happens and we can’t get to Jin’s computer room in time.”

“Smart thinking,” Jungkook replied, following Namjoon onto the elevator.

As the elevator dinged, and the door opened up, Jungkook looked down the long hallway and saw seven doors, three on one side, three on another side, and one at the far end. “Your room is down here,” Namjoon informed, leading Jungkook down to the farthest door on the right side. “Next door to you is J-Hope and then Jimin, directly across from you is Jin’s room, then Taehyung, and finally Suga’s, and of course mine is here at the end of the hall.”

“J-Hope and Jimin are here too?” Jungkook wondered.

“You’ll see them at dinner, they’re out doing a business errand for me at the moment,” Namjoon said. “Go ahead, see your room.”

Jungkook held his keycard up to the black square before turning the door handle and entering the luxurious room. The whole back wall was made of glass, allowing Jungkook to oversee Gangnam in the near distance, as well as a good view of the property. Setting his duffel bag down on the king sized bed, Jungkook said “This room is bigger than the apartment I lived in.”

Namjoon laughed before stating “Now that you’re back with your family, you’ll get the same luxuries and privileges as us, but it’s a lot of work Jungkook, are you up for it?”

“I will do my hardest to make sure Bangtan is nothing short of successful,” Jungkook promised.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Namjoon grinned. “I’ll let you rest up and unpack, and we’ll catch up with everyone else in a couple of hours at dinner.”

“Sounds good,” Jungkook agreed before Namjoon exited his room. As soon as he was sure that Namjoon was out of earshot, Jungkook touched his earring and muttered “You guys still there?”

“Yeah we’re here Jungkook, you managed to get in without any suspicion, you’re doing great,” Changmin confirmed. Jungkook knew that Namjoon would be smart enough to have his belongings and self checked for cameras or weapons, so Jungkook knew they had to find a smart way to conceal the audio recorder. Luckily Yoona had been able to place a tiny voice recorder inside of an earring that Jungkook wore, concealing it flawlessly whenever Jungkook put it on.

“Thanks, with the rate things are going, I should only be here for a few weeks,” Jungkook speculated as he began unpacking his things.

“Now remember, the earring recorder only works if you wear it, I set it up to sensor when it’s next to skin, so always remember to put it on before meeting with any of the members,” Yoona reminded.

“No problem, I only take it off to sleep and shower, so no worries,” Jungkook promised.

A couple hours later, Jungkook joined the rest of Bangtan in the dining room, seeing J-Hope and Jimin for the first time. J-Hope practically tackled Jungkook when he saw his raven haired friend, and Jimin hugged Jungkook. “Oh my god, what are you doing back? Dude it’s been forever,” J-Hope said.

“Yeah Jungkook, five years and you can’t give us a call,” Jimin jokingly added.

“Sorry guys, I was a little busy,” Jungkook replied.

“J-Hope, Jimin, let Jungkook sit down so we can all reconnect with him,” Namjoon suggested from the far end of the table. “You come sit here by me Jungkook, across from Suga.” Jungkook nodded and took his place on Namjoon’s left side, and saw Yoongi subtly glaring at him, while Taehyung sat next to Yoongi, only able to glance over at Jungkook ever so often. “Now, Jungkook has returned to Bangtan, after five years, our littlest brother has come home all grown up. I am welcoming him back with open arms and an open mind, and I suggest everyone do the same,” Namjoon continued, directly the statement towards Yoongi. “Since he’s been away for a while, he will need to be brought up on the speed of things. For the next month Jungkook, I want you to shadow everyone and see just how much work goes into our operation; I’ll also want to test your handgun abilities and knowledge, as well as your hand to hand combat skills. It’ll also give me a chance to determine what role I think you’d best be suited for in the group. Yoongi, Taehyung, and I handle client negotiations, Jimin and J-Hope handle payment collection, and Jin handles obtaining client orders and recruiting new clients through encrypted online code. Tomorrow, I’ll take you around and show you the clubs, and in the evening you can shadow Yoongi, Taehyung, and myself.”

“I look forward to it,” Jungkook optimistically agreed. “I take it when you say clients, you mean the people who buy weed from us?”

Soft laughter erupted from J-Hope, Jimin, Namjoon, and Jin. “It’s not just that anymore dude,” J-Hope informed.

“We sell more than just marijuana, we’ve gone up to also selling cocaine, LSD, heroin, bath salts, we even sold a guy a shitload of military grade guns,” Jin added.

“Nothing is off limits,” Namjoon stated. “If a client wants something and we are able to negotiate a fair price, we’ll get it for them one way or another.”

“Huh,” Jungkook replied, not realizing just how extreme his friends had gotten over the years.

When dinner had ended for the evening, Yoongi pulled Namjoon aside and muttered “I don’t think we need to trust Jungkook so easily; we have no idea where he’s been for the past five years or who he’s been working for.”

“Suga, you’re overreacting; this is Jungkook, the baby brother of the family who never once did anything shady to us. Yes a lot of time has passed, but I still trust him, I look in his eyes and I don’t have a bad feeling about who he is,” Namjoon responded. “He’s not some stranger off the street, he’s a member of Bangtan, and you will treat him as such, is that understood?”

Yoongi gritted his teeth and muttered “Yeah, but if it comes back to bite you in the ass, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Namjoon sarcastically replied before walking away. Yoongi huffed out an angry breath before stomping up the stairs.

On the third floor, Jungkook had just gotten to his room when he heard the elevator door ding as it opened up. Jungkook’s heart pounded as he watched Taehyung step off. The two looked at one another as Taehyung slowly walked towards Jungkook. Looking at the blonde, Jungkook could tell just how nervous Taehyung seemed, and his speculation was proven further when the elevator opened again, revealing Yoongi. Jungkook watched as Yoongi stormed over to Taehyung, pressed his keycard against his bedroom door, and shoved a terrified Taehyung inside, growling “Get in there,” before angrily grimacing towards Jungkook as he also entered his bedroom, slamming the door behind him and locking it. Jungkook felt his heart thrash around in his chest at the thought of Yoongi possibly hurting Taehyung, but sadly all he could do for the moment was open his own bedroom door, and shut himself away for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

_“I can’t show you a ruined part of myself . . . I’m afraid you will leave me again . . . but I still want you.”_

\- The Truth Untold (2018)

Jungkook groaned quietly in his sleep as his body involuntarily flinched and his breathing became shaky as a result of the dreams he was experiencing. Being back with Bangtan had caused childhood memories to flood Jungkook’s brain while he attempted to rest; many of them revolving around his past relationship with Taehyung. Out of all the others, Taehyung was the one Jungkook had been closest too, and vice versa. Taehyung had almost latched onto him instantaneously when they first met, and the two had been inseparable up until the day Jungkook left. As they grew into adolescence, Jungkook and Taehyung couldn’t deny the feelings that each had blossomed for one another, even the other members of Bangtan noticed. When they were together, Jungkook tuned out the rest of the world, wanting his only focus to be on Taehyung; when he was with him, Jungkook felt like he was in his own utopia where everything, even just momentarily, was perfect. He remembered how his heart would always flutter a little faster every time Taehyung smiled at him or laughed because of Jungkook’s attempts to cheer him up, or how Taehyung looked at him lovingly as the moonlight reflected off his soft orbs while they lie together in Jungkook’s bed, little things like that would drive Jungkook crazy and make his feelings for Taehyung even stronger. But after seeing how Taehyung had acted the previous day, that was not the Taehyung that Jungkook remembered. Jungkook remembered a Taehyung that was cheerful, friendly, confident; that was _his_ Taehyung. The person who Jungkook had seen was almost the complete opposite, Taehyung now seemed so broken and reserved, almost a shell of his former self; someone who had slowly been hollowed out bit by bit over the past five years. This echoed in Jungkook’s dream as he imagined Taehyung crying out to him, _“Jungkook, where are you? Jungkook? Why did you go? I thought you cared about me . . . Jungkook, please come back!”_

A loud knock at the door awoke Jungkook suddenly, yanking him out of his nightmare with an audible gasp. Heart pounding against his chest, Jungkook sat up with wide eyes, and gazed around his sunlight-filled bedroom. The raven haired Korean placed his hand on his forehead for a few moments to try and stabilize his thoughts, before running his fingers through his hair. The knock came again, this time with a voice. “Jungkook, you okay?” Jin wondered from the other side of the door.

Quickly, Jungkook was on his feet and over to the door as he opened it up to let Jin inside. “Yeah, I’m good, just had a weird dream is all,” Jungkook replied.

“Hate when those happen,” Jin agreed as he started to hang up some clothes in Jungkook’s closet.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook asked. “I’ve already got my clothes unpacked.”

“Oh I know, Namjoon said that if you’re going to be back in Bangtan, then you have to dress accordingly, so he had me get you some suits and formal attire delivered this morning,” Jin explained.

“That was really fast, I haven’t even been here for twenty four hours,” Jungkook noticed.

Jin laughed quietly. “You’ll soon find out just how many connections we have, and what one phone call from Namjoon can achieve,” he said. “Well, I’ll leave you to get ready, Namjoon wants us to leave the house around eight, got a big day planned for you.”

“Alright, thanks Jin,” Jungkook responded. He then thought of something. “Hey Jin, wait a second.”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Jin inquired as he turned back to Jungkook.

“Between you and me, what happened to Taehyung? He, he seems so different now,” Jungkook muttered.

Jin’s expression grew somber as he sighed. “You want the long answer or the short answer?” Jungkook’s eyes widened. “What happened to Taehyung? Suga, that’s what happened to him.”

“Does he, I mean, are they, together?” Jungkook slowly stammered out, hating the sound of that word in this context.

“I honestly don’t know what you would call it, I can think of several things, one-sided, controlling, abusive, manipulative, but it’s definitely not what you and Taehyung had,” Jin informed. “When you left, Taehyung fell apart, hard. He was depressed for so long, that Namjoon almost had him go to a therapist. But Suga promised Namjoon he would fix Taehyung, and after that, wherever Suga went, there was Taehyung, he rarely ever lets Taehyung be alone.”

“Does Namjoon know how Suga treats Taehyung?” Jungkook wondered.

“He tries to keep the abuse to a minimum when Namjoon is around, and Taehyung is so scared to say anything; he’s even threatened me, J-Hope, and Jimin about what he’d do to us if we ever told Namjoon. Now normally, I wouldn’t put up with any of Suga’s bullshit like that, but I also know what he’s capable of if he snaps,” Jin explained. “Jungkook, if you can, find some alone time and talk to Taehyung; I know he’s missed you. But watch out for Suga, Taehyung is the one thing he’s extremely possessive over.”

“Thanks Jin, I appreciate you telling me all this,” Jungkook replied after a moment of silent thinking.

After getting ready and dressed in one of the sharp, new suits that Namjoon had provided for him, Jungkook put his microphone earring back in his ear and headed downstairs to join the rest of Bangtan, who were currently eating breakfast together. “Jungkook, did you rest well last night?” Namjoon wondered as the raven haired Korean sat down next to him.

“Yes, the bed was very comfortable,” Jungkook confirmed as he fixed himself a plate of food.

“I see the new clothes fit you well, you look professional,” Namjoon complimented.

“Thank you, and thanks for the suits, you didn’t have to go to all the trouble,” Jungkook replied.

“Nonsense, I would do the same if it were any of the other members,” Namjoon responded. “Now when we are finished eating, J-Hope, Jimin, I have a few errands I need you two to run, we’ve got five clients that are due for payment and two that are falling at least three months behind, kindly remind those two that they will need to pay us if they wish continue using our services, or else they know what will happen.” Namjoon slipped J-Hope a piece of paper with five names on it, including their addresses, phone numbers, and what they had purchased.

“No problem, if all goes well, we can have this done before lunch,” J-Hope promised.

“If you do finish early, will you two go over to Incheon and pick up a shipment that should be in this afternoon?” Namjoon requested.

“Sure,” Jimin agreed. “What is it this time? Candy or Toys?”

“Toys,” Namjoon stated with a smile before taking a drink. Jungkook noticed as the other members began grinning from ear to ear at Namjoon’s statement. Noticing the confusion Jungkook was displaying, Namjoon explained “Candy means drugs, and Toys mean guns; this is how we advertise on our sites. Jin will go into further detail with you when you shadow him.”

“You forgot to tell him the best one though, the Dolls,” Jimin reminded.

“He will learn that when he shadows you and J-Hope; for now Candy and Toys are all he needs to focus on,” Namjoon said. Once breakfast had ended, Namjoon stood up from the table, prompting the other members of Bangtan to stand up as well. “Everyone know what they’re doing today?” Bangtan nodded in affirmation to Namjoon’s question, before their leader continued “Alright, let’s have a productive day and I’ll see you all again at dinner.” As J-Hope and Jimin headed off in one direction, and Jin in another, Namjoon placed a hand on Jungkook’s back, leading him outside along with himself, Yoongi, and Taehyung. “We’ll start with our only establishment outside of Seoul,” he stated.

“Where’s that at?” Jungkook wondered.

“In Busan,” Namjoon informed. “It’s about a thirty minute plane ride, luckily, we’ve got one prepped and ready to go, right Suga?”

“Yeah, told the pilot to be ready to go by eight,” Yoongi confirmed.

“Good, call and let him know we’re on the way,” Namjoon requested as the four approached two large, black SUVs. Jungkook looked over at Taehyung, hoping he would be able to go in the same car with him so they could have a chance to talk finally, but Jungkook watched Yoongi quickly escort Taehyung to the second SUV, his hand tightly gripping Taehyung’s elbow. “Jungkook, is everything alright?” Namjoon wondered, noticing the raven haired Korean’s expression.

Tearing his eyes away from the second car, Jungkook quickly replied “Yeah, I’m good.” He took one last glance at the car before climbing into the first SUV with Namjoon.

“It’s about a five minute drive to the airstrip, so hopefully we’ll be in Busan by eight forty five at the latest,” Namjoon figured as he slid on his sunshades. “We’re ready,” he said to the driver of their car.

Jungkook sat there quietly as the SUV began slowly pulling down the long driveway, catching a look in the rearview mirror, seeing the second SUV with Taehyung and Yoongi following closely behind. “What made you decide to have only one location in Busan?” Jungkook inquired.

“The money is just better in Seoul honestly,” Namjoon stated. “I’m not saying that our Busan location doesn’t turn a profit, it’s just mostly catered towards foreigners.”

“Why’s that?” Jungkook wondered.

“It’s a casino,” Namjoon revealed. “And as you know, Koreans aren’t allowed to gamble, but the foreigners love it; especially the Americans. They’re willing to bet any and everything, money, property, contract deals, even someone’s services.”

“How’ve you been able to do this for five years and not be caught?” Jungkook questioned.

“We’ve come close several times, but we learn from the mistakes we make; during our first year, understandably we made many errors, but we were learning. Now, through practice and smart, careful planning, we leave virtually no evidence of any illegal activity we engage in. I learned everything I know from the best, but you already knew that,” Namjoon explained.

Jungkook nodded, knowing exactly what Namjoon meant. Growing up, Namjoon’s uncle had been one of the top drug bosses in all of Korea, running a network of dealers throughout the country and even abroad in the States. As long as Jungkook had known Namjoon, he’d known his uncle as well; Jungkook had never met Namjoon’s parents before, and he always became angered whenever they were mentioned, so Jungkook knew better than to stir up an argument. Whenever Bangtan began selling drugs in their teenage years, Namjoon’s uncle would supply them with their inventory. “How is your uncle doing nowadays?” Jungkook asked.

“He’s well, he retired about a year and a half ago, bought a private island off the coast of the Philippines and is enjoying himself last I heard,” Namjoon informed. “When he announced his retirement, he looked at me and said ‘Joonie, I’ve taught you all I know, and now to see you flourish like you are, I am confident that you will be as successful as I am.’ After everything he did for me and Kyung-min, I’m not gonna let him down, no matter what it takes. He did more for me than my so called fuck-up parents ever did; my uncle taught me it’s all about survival of the fittest, and that’s the mindset I tried to instill in you guys too.” Looking out of the SUV window, Namjoon recalled one of the first lessons his uncle ever taught him.

_*Flashback 16 years ago*_

Ten year old Namjoon sat in his uncle’s office, playing with a five year old Kyung-min, rolling a ball back and forth between the two. Suddenly, the small, plastic watch on Namjoon’s wrist beeped. Namjoon turned off the sound before announcing “Kyung-min, it’s time for your medicine, okay?”

The five year old girl shook her head. “No medicine,” she rejected, crossing her arms and beginning to pout.

Standing up, Namjoon went over to the mini fridge his uncle had, and pulled out a cup of applesauce before taking it over to his uncle’s desk. Opening up the middle drawer, Namjoon found a prescription bottle with Kyung-min’s name on it before unscrewing the lid, and tipping the bottle over, collecting a small pill in his palm. “You have to take your medicine or else you will start to shake, and uncle will have to take you to the hospital. You don’t wanna go to the hospital, right Kyung-min?” Namjoon said as he crushed up the pill and mixed the powdery residue into the applesauce.

“No,” Kyung-min replied.

The ten year old Namjoon knelt down next to Kyung-min and began feeding her the applesauce until it was all gone. “Good job, you ate it all,” Namjoon congratulated as he stood to throw away the empty cup.

Kyung-min held out a hand. “Jelly, jelly,” she whined.

Namjoon grinned. “Alright, alright, you can have a jelly,” he agreed. Every time Kyung-min took her medicine well, Namjoon always rewarded the little girl with a jelly fruit snack. Going back over to his uncle’s desk, Namjoon retrieved the treats from the bottom drawer, unwrapping one and handing it to Kyung-min.

A few minutes later, Namjoon’s uncle entered the office, finding his niece and nephew playing on the floor, resuming their game of rolling the ball. Looking at his nephew closely, the uncle asked “Namjoon, where did you get that bruise? It wasn’t there when you left for school today.”

“I got into a fight today,” Namjoon muttered, not wanting to make eye contact with his uncle.

His uncle didn’t seem shocked by Namjoon’s statement, instead asking “Were you the one who initiated it?”

“Yes, he was saying mean things to my friend Jin, and I –” Namjoon started.

“How badly did you hurt the other boy?” Namjoon’s uncle interrupted.

“I jumped on him and started trying to choke him; I didn’t like what he said,” Namjoon revealed. “I just wanted him to shut up.”

“Shut up,” Kyung-min echoed as she started to bounce.

Their uncle looked at down at her and firmly said “Kyung-min, ladies don’t speak that way.”

“Yes sir,” she muttered.

Turning back to Namjoon, the uncle instructed “Namjoon, turn on some cartoons for your sister and come with me.”

The ten year old knew not to question his uncle’s commands, and turned on the TV in his uncle’s office. “Kyung-min, stay here, I’ll be right back,” Namjoon stated before following his uncle, leaving his sister to watch TV. 

Namjoon silently followed his uncle down a long, dimly lit hallway, wondering what his uncle had in store for him. “I understand why you wanted to defend your friend Namjoon, loyalty to your allies is a good trait for a future leader to have,” the uncle started.

“I’m not a leader though uncle, I’m only ten,” Namjoon quietly denied.

“That’s why I said _future_ leader boy, pay attention,” his uncle gently, but firmly scolded. “One day you are going to be faced with making important decisions, and if your temper is not controlled, it will be the cause of your downfall. I will help you control it.”

“How will you do that uncle?” Namjoon curiously asked.

“By practice of course, that is the only way you can get better at anything; you are a very intelligent boy Namjoon, your brain is the best weapon you have for survival. If you attack first, and think second, your enemies will learn quickly how to anticipate your plans. You want to think everything out first, that way your enemy worries about multiple possibilities for retaliation,” his uncle explained. “Do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” Namjoon replied.

“When violence is necessary however,” his uncle continued, pausing to open up a door. “You will need to know the best strategy to use.” Stepping into the room, Namjoon’s uncle signaled for Namjoon to follow him inside. The ten year old listened, and slowly walked into the room. Inside were three men, standing to the side around a table, seemingly waiting for Namjoon’s uncle. In the middle of the room, tied to a chair, sat a man bound, gagged, and blindfolded. “Gentlemen, this is my nephew Namjoon; Namjoon these are some of the men who work for me. I’d like to ask you men to leave the room, this is a teachable moment for my nephew and I want him to not feel pressured because of an audience.” The three Korean men nodded respectfully and exited the room. “Now Joonie, the man you see before you acted before he thought, and this is a result of his foolish negligence; because he thought with his fists before his brain, he is now prisoner to someone much smarter than him, do you understand?”

“Yes uncle,” Namjoon remarked. “What did he do that requires us to punish him?”

“He disrespected my generosity and thought he did not have to keep his promise to pay me when I asked him to,” Namjoon’s uncle explained. “First lesson Namjoon, everyone deserves a second chance when they mess up. Now I could kill this man for not bringing me my money when I requested it, but that would not be smart thinking on my part; I would be acting out of anger instead of assessing the situation.” Namjoon stood there and nodded, soaking in his uncle’s advice and words of wisdom. Escorting the boy over to the table, Namjoon’s uncle showed him an assortment of knives, brass knuckles, blowtorches, and branding irons. “Thinking about what I have told you, what do you think is the best punishment for a man who is to be given a second chance?” Staring at the tools, Namjoon thought long and hard about what his uncle had told him, trying to assess the circumstances, all while trying to ignore the grunts and groans of the bound man a few feet from him. Slowly pointing to the brass knuckles, Namjoon heard his uncle ask “Why did you choose these?”

“Because these will emphasize how serious you are, yet will only create temporary bruises, whereas the other instruments can leave permanent scars,” Namjoon guessed.

“Right, we don’t want him dead yet, but if he messes up again, then we have more options,” the uncle confirmed. “Now the second lesson Namjoon, is knowing when to stop when you are administering a retaliating assault. This is what to remember when you are angry, when you should stop attacking. Put on the brass knuckles, we are going to practice on this man.” Namjoon didn’t question his uncle, slipping on the weapons and turning to the bound man behind him. “Remember, torso, thighs, back, places where bruises are not easily seen every day.” Namjoon nodded before throwing the first punch at his uncle’s prisoner.

_*End Flashback*_

Namjoon came out of his daze when he saw the car pull up to the private airstrip where a small jet was awaiting them. “Let’s go Jungkook,” he instructed as the two of them walked over to the plane, while Yoongi and Taehyung followed close behind.

As they flew down to Busan, Jungkook kept his eyes glued to Taehyung who, because of Yoongi, was sitting on the opposite side of the plane. He watched as Yoongi forcefully raked his fingers through Taehyung’s blonde hair, and Taehyung keep his face lowered as a result of that. Noticing Jungkook looking at Taehyung, Yoongi spat “What the fuck are you looking at him for?”

“Why the fuck do you care?” Jungkook responded. “If he wants me to stop, then I will, otherwise leave me the hell alone.”

“He wants you to stop, don’t you Taehyung?” Yoongi growled, roughly squeezing the back of Taehyung’s neck.

“Yes,” Taehyung quickly replied, wanting Yoongi to let go of him.

“If that’s what you really want Taehyung,” Jungkook quietly said, exchanging glares with Yoongi, as he watched him release Taehyung’s neck.

Silence befell them for the remainder of the plane ride, before it touched down on an isolated airstrip in Busan, where two cars were waiting for them. After riding over to a popular tourist spot in Busan, the cars stopped in front of a large structure that Jungkook thought could be mistaken for a Las Vegas building. “Welcome to House of Cards, our casino,” Namjoon announced as the four walked inside.

Jungkook gazed around the establishment; lights flickered everywhere, buzzers and bells sounding off, upbeat music playing over the loud speakers, Jungkook wondered if this is what the Americans really went for. They must have, because Jungkook saw what looked like a hundred American patrons inside, gambling and drinking the day away, even though it was only nine in the morning. “Like gluttons for punishment,” Yoongi muttered as they gazed at the patrons intently.

“This is the middle child of the three establishments,” Namjoon informed. “House of Cards has two levels, the first floor that you see is set up mostly like a Vegas type area, to make the Americans more comfortable with a sense of familiarity. The second level is where we have high stakes games, and occasionally do deals.” Namjoon grabbed a menu off the greeter’s stand and showed it to Jungkook. “Like I told you earlier, everything here works in code. The ‘Elites Only’ section is how clients can order drugs, or Candy as we have coded.” Jungkook stared at the menu, taking in everything. He counted almost nine different drugs that Bangtan was currently selling, and they were cleverly hidden; to a normal patron, these names didn’t mean anything other than treats, but Jungkook knew from doing extensive research; ‘grasshopper candy’ was more than likely marijuana, ‘brown sugar melts’ were heroin, ‘bubblegum’ was opium, ‘snow cones’ were cocaine, ‘ice cream’ was meth, ‘red hots’ were ecstasy, ‘honey drops’ were GHB, ‘sugar dust cookies’ were PCP, and ‘rainbow sours’ were LSD. “I’ll have Jin print you off a copy at home so you can study and memorize it; you’ll need to know all nine so you can know what to get ordered,” Namjoon stated.

“Okay,” Jungkook replied as they continued walking around and looking.

“We rarely spend time at this one, as the other two places are much more popular; but we have this place under excellent management,” Namjoon responded. “Now that you have seen House of Cards, let’s head back to Gangnam and you can see the youngest child of the establishments.”

“Alright,” Jungkook agreed, curious to see what else there was.

After taking the jet back to Gangnam, and an SUV into the city, Jungkook watched as they pulled up to a large building. Reading the name, Jungkook felt his mouth drop open slightly. “This is our newest club, Euphoria, only a year and a half old,” Namjoon informed. “Taehyung suggested the name, and I thought it was perfect, considering what our mission for the place is.”

Jungkook looked over at the blonde Korean, who wouldn’t look at him, but was subtly smiling towards the ground. Jungkook’s heart pounded, knowing exactly why Taehyung had made that recommendation, recalling one of his memories with Taehyung.

_*Flashback 7 years ago*_

Sixteen year old Jungkook lie in bed in his rundown home in Daegu, trying to get some sleep. It had been another long day, and he was hoping to forget it all and fade into rest. However, sleep would have to wait, as he heard a quiet tap on his window. Jungkook’s eyes shot wide open; this time of night, in their neighborhood, Jungkook didn’t know who or what could be outside. Instinctively reaching for the bat he kept under his bed, Jungkook sat up and faced the window, seeing a figure silhouetted against the curtained window by the street light. The figure tapped again, and Jungkook began to breathe easier when he heard the person mutter his name. Standing up, Jungkook threw open the curtain and found Taehyung standing outside, tears streaming down his face. Jungkook pointed towards the front door as he and Taehyung made their way over. Quietly opening the front door to his house, Jungkook let Taehyung inside, taking his hand and silently helping navigate the two of them through Jungkook’s disheveled home, and slip past his currently unconscious parents, around them empty soju bottles and old syringes littered the floor. After returning to Jungkook’s bedroom, the two lie down together in Jungkook’s bed, as Taehyung slipped his arms around the raven haired Korean, burying his head in his chest and crying quietly. Jungkook wrapped his own arms around Taehyung, attempting to comfort his trembling body, whispering “Another bad night at home?”

He felt Taehyung nod against his chest, and Jungkook understood everything. Taehyung’s parents, like his own and all the other adults in the neighborhood, were drug addicts; but instead of just passing out after doing too much like Jungkook’s parents, Taehyung’s would get aggressive and lash out at Taehyung, physically assaulting their eighteen year old son. They had always been this way, for as long as Jungkook had known Taehyung, and every time Taehyung felt afraid of his parents, or anything really, he would run to Jungkook’s house, no matter what time of day or night it was. Jungkook was Taehyung’s safe haven, even though Jungkook was younger than Taehyung, he knew that Jungkook would protect him and make him feel safe, even if just for a brief minute. “Dad tried to choke me again,” Taehyung mumbled as tears fell from his eyes.

Jungkook immediately turned on his lamp to look at Taehyung’s neck. “Did he bruise you again like last time? He better not have, if that bastard knows what’s good for him,” Jungkook responded, lightly stroking his fingertips across Taehyung’s throat and collarbone.

“No, I got away before he could do any real damage,” Taehyung informed. Laying back down, the blonde added “I’m ready to leave this place; Namjoon says one day we all will get out of here, but I wish that day was here now.”

“Me too,” Jungkook agreed, rubbing Taehyung’s back. “I’d take care of you Tae; I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you ever again.” Looking at him, Jungkook gently brushed his thumb against Taehyung’s lower lip, whispering “I’d make you feel safe and loved.”

“I know you would Jungkook,” Taehyung replied with a smile. “You’ve always made me feel that way, that’s why you’re my little euphoria.”

Jungkook laughed quietly, pulling Taehyung closer to him. “I love when you call me that, but you are also mine, Taehyung you are the cause of _my_ euphoria. When I’m with you, I feel so calm and at peace, even as all the fucked up stuff around us continues,” he whispered. Leaning forward, Jungkook lightly pressed his lips to Taehyung’s before adding “I love you Taehyung.”

“I love you too Jungkook,” Taehyung echoed as Jungkook cupped his face and kissed him again.

_*End Flashback*_

Coming back to reality, Jungkook followed Namjoon, Taehyung, and Yoongi inside Euphoria. “Even though it’s only a year old, it’s quickly becoming one of the top clubs in all of Korea. This is our most exclusive club ever Jungkook. Patrons are only allowed here by invitation, mostly because we allow only the best male and female dancers to work here. We have several private rooms in the back in case a client wants some alone time with one of the dancers, of course that costs extra, but when you pay for the best, you get the best,” Namjoon explained. “There is one other thing that makes Euphoria different from the other two places; here, clients are allowed to purchase a dancer if they choose.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened. “You mean like sex trafficking?” he questioned.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it that,” Namjoon casually denied. “We aren’t responsible for what lifestyle is thrust onto the dancers once they leave here, for all we know they could be used for a multitude of services.”

“Once they leave here, they’re not our problem anymore; some of these people will pay millions of won for the right whore,” Yoongi added. “Or as Jimin dubbed them, the Dolls.”

“You will learn more about that when you shadow Jin, J-Hope, and Jimin, but for now, we should head to our eldest and favorite establishment, on the other side of Gangnam,” Namjoon suggested as they left Euphoria. “The two clubs usually stay closed in the daytime to be cleaned and prepped for the night crowd, normal business hours for them are from about six at night to seven in the morning, but of course we don’t stay all night, just long enough to do deals and check on the inventory.” After driving to the other side of Gangnam, the four Bangtan members arrived at the final club. “This is our most popular club, BT21; during the weekend it’s packed full of college students, but during the week we get a lot of businessmen and people in their late twenties and early thirties.”

“It looks amazing,” Jungkook complimented, taking note of the neon purple sign across the top of the building.

“You should see it at night,” Namjoon said, leading them inside. “Main floor has a large dance area, booths for groups to order bottle service, a bar, and even private rooms for the nights when we bring dancers in. Unlike Euphoria, BT21 only hosts female dancers to the public, however if a client comes in and gives you the code word of the day, then they are requesting a male dancer for a private dance in the backroom.”

“Why are the male dancers kept secret?” Jungkook wondered.

“They bring in more profit; plus it saves some of the businessmen from experiencing judgement due to social stigma. Many men don’t want others to know that they experiment with same sex lust, so they’re willing to pay extra to have a male brought privately to their room,” Namjoon explained. “In Euphoria, it’s by invite only, and the wealthy don’t judge the wealthy.” Leading Jungkook down one of the hallways, Namjoon continued “Here are the private rooms, as you can see they are big enough to accommodate anywhere from two to five people, depending on how many dancers a client is willing to pay for.” Going past the rooms, Jungkook stopped as Namjoon unlocked a door. “This leads downstairs to the basement, where we occasionally have to deal with business that we don’t want to disrupt the guests with. Most of the time however, transactions of either Candy, Toys, or even Dolls are handled in this private room here that is reserved for any members of Bangtan.” Jungkook looked at the only door labeled ‘Reserved’ and nodded. “Now, we’re going to be opening BT21 in a couple of hours, and since it’s Thursday, you’ll get a chance to meet some of our best clients.”

“Can’t wait,” Jungkook responded, forcing enthusiasm into his voice.

As Jungkook and Namjoon walked back to the main room of BT21, Namjoon requested “Suga, help me count the money and go over our appointment schedule for tonight, Taehyung, will you take last night’s empty liquor bottles out back to the garbage, and Jungkook, can you make sure the dance floor is swept. Even though we have staff that’ll come start cleaning soon, we still need to take care of our establishment as responsible owners.”

“Sure Namjoon,” Jungkook agreed. Namjoon nodded before he and a reluctant Yoongi walked back to the office to do their business.

Awkward silence filled the room, as Taehyung filled boxes with empty liquor bottles and began carrying them down a hallway to the back of the club. Seeing his chance finally, Jungkook followed Taehyung outside. The blonde chucked the box into the dumpster before noticing Jungkook had trailed after him. “Hi Tae,” Jungkook quietly said, not wanting to spook Taehyung. The blonde Korean nervously backed up as Jungkook stepped closer. Taehyung felt his back press against a chain-link fence as Jungkook was just a few feet away from him. “It’s been a while, huh?” Taehyung started to move away from Jungkook, before the raven haired Korean thrust his hands forward on either side of the blonde, gripping the chain-link fence, blocking Taehyung from leaving. “Please, please don’t run away from me, I just want to talk to you.”

Jungkook saw tears welling in Taehyung’s eyes as he muttered “What do you want to say?”

“I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for leaving you like that all of a sudden. Leaving you was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make; I never wanted to hurt you, and I sure as hell never wanted you to fall into an abusive, toxic relationship with Suga,” Jungkook said.

“Five years Jungkook, you were gone for five fucking years,” Taehyung cried, as tears poured down his cheeks. “I loved you Jungkook, I loved you with every beat of my heart, and every time I thought of you, every time I recalled a memory, my heart would ache for you; I needed you, and you weren’t there.”

“I’m sorry, Taehyung I’m so sorry,” Jungkook apologized. He cautiously raised a hand and placed it on Taehyung’s face. “I’m here now, I’m not leaving you like that again. I missed you, every single day I thought of you, getting back to you was my goal, I never forgot you Tae.”

“When you left, a part of me left with you, and it’s never come back. The part of me that was joyful, that laughed, that enjoyed life, when you left, you took that part of my soul with you,” Taehyung muttered.

“I can’t rewind the past five years, but what I can do is do everything in my power to make it up to you now. Taehyung, I still love you very much, I don’t know if you love me or not, but you have always had my love and heart,” Jungkook confessed.

“I don’t even know if I love myself anymore Jungkook,” Taehyung whispered. “So much has happened since you’ve been gone. Even after all this time has passed, even after feeling betrayed and abandoned by you, I still want you Jungkook.”

“I’ve always been yours Taehyung, yours and yours alone,” Jungkook promised quietly. No longer able to hold himself back, Jungkook leaned forward and lovingly kissed Taehyung’s lips, placing one of his hands on the blonde’s cheek. Taehyung moaned into Jungkook’s mouth, remembering the softness of his lips and the sweetness of his taste. Taehyung slipped his arms around Jungkook’s neck, wanting him closer, burying his hands in Jungkook’s raven hair.

Pulling back for a moment, Jungkook’s hunger for Taehyung increased as he began kissing at the blonde’s neck, trailing his tongue lightly a pulsing vein in Taehyung’s throat. Closing his mouth around the skin, Jungkook lightly bit into the side of Taehyung’s neck as he kissed him, earning a familiar whimper from Taehyung. “Kookie,” Taehyung moaned quietly as he felt Jungkook pull him closer, wishing he could let himself melt into Jungkook’s embrace. Hearing Taehyung call him his childhood nickname brought back more memories for Jungkook, all of them pleasant, and all involving Taehyung. Picking up his lips from Taehyung’s skin, Jungkook kissed the blonde’s lips once more; hoping the moment between the two would never end.

But as soon as the moment started, it ended as Taehyung forced himself to pull away from Jungkook. “What is it?” Jungkook wondered.

“Suga will find out, I know he will, he finds out everything,” Taehyung revealed. “I don’t know how, but he’ll figure out that we kissed, and he’ll –”

Taehyung paused, not wanting to think about how Yoongi would punish him. Jungkook walked up behind Taehyung and placed his hands on his shoulders. “I won’t let him hurt you anymore,” Jungkook promised.

“He’s already hurt me in more ways than you know of,” Taehyung revealed.

“What do you mean?” Jungkook asked.

Before Taehyung could answer, the back door of BT21 opened up. “Taehyung, are you out here?” Yoongi called. Looking over, Yoongi saw Taehyung and Jungkook standing close to one another. “What the fuck is going on out here?!”

“N-nothing Suga, Jungkook was helping me throw out some of the liquor boxes, there were so many of them,” Taehyung quickly lied, averting his gaze to the ground.

Yoongi was silent for a moment, before grabbing Taehyung’s arm. “You come with me,” he growled before turning to Jungkook. “And you, stay the fuck away from my property, he’s not yours anymore, you fucked that up when you left.”

“He’s not property Suga, you can’t control him,” Jungkook responded, following Yoongi inside as he dragged Taehyung with him.

“Like hell I can’t,” Yoongi said. “You have no idea how capable I really am, and what I can resort to, to keep him in line.” Reaching Bangtan’s private room, Yoongi opened the door and shoved Taehyung inside before stepping in and closing the door behind him.

Before Jungkook could bang on the door, Namjoon called to him. “Jungkook, come here, I want to give you some details on the clients you’ll be meeting tonight,” he requested.

“Coming,” Jungkook replied, shooting one last glare at the door, praying at Yoongi wouldn’t hurt Taehyung.

Inside the room, Taehyung backed up from Yoongi as far as he could go. “What were you doing alone with Jungkook after I gave you strict orders not to ever be alone with him?” Yoongi demanded through gritted teeth.

“We were just talking Suga, he, he told me he missed me,” Taehyung muttered.

“He shows up out of the fucking blue and you think the reason why is because he misses you? God you’re dumb as fuck; he’s here because he’s up to no good, I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, and I’m gonna prove to Namjoon that he can’t be trusted. Once Namjoon sees that his beloved Jungkook is lying to us, he’ll be done for,” Yoongi stated.

“Suga please, I haven’t seen Jungkook in so long, I want to try –” Taehyung started before Yoongi lunged at him, grabbing the blonde by the throat and slamming him back against the wall.

“I don’t give even the tiniest fuck what you want; if I ever catch you alone with him again, you will be sorry. You know I can make marks on your body where no one will ever see,” Yoongi threatened, tightening his grip around Taehyung’s throat, eyeing the scared blonde. “And then I’ll inform Jungkook just how much of a whore his precious Tae has become in his absence. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes Suga,” Taehyung gasped before Yoongi released his grip on Taehyung’s throat; the blonde began coughing and panting for air, rubbing his sore throat.

Yoongi then grabbed Taehyung’s wrists and pinned him back against the wall. Softening his tone, Yoongi whispered “Don’t make me do that again Tae, you know I don’t like hurting you.” Yoongi then forced his mouth against Taehyung’s, biting roughly at his lower lip as Taehyung trembled uncomfortably. Pulling back from the blonde, Yoongi instructed “The Park brothers are coming tonight, and I expect you to be ready for them.”

“Yes Suga,” Taehyung monotonously agreed before Yoongi left the room. As soon as the door closed, Taehyung pressed his back against the wall and slid down, burying his head in his arms as he sobbed loudly, angry and sad simultaneously, but even more disheartened that the renewed taste of Jungkook had disappeared from his lips.


	4. Chapter 4

_“Tell me if my voice isn't real, if I shouldn’t have thrown myself away. Tell me if this pain isn’t real, what I was supposed to do back then.”_

\- Singularity (2018)

8 p.m. and BT21 was packed almost completely. Jungkook looked around at the college age Koreans tightly squeezing onto the dance floor in the center of the club as loud music blared through the dozens of speakers, while patrons in their thirties sat over in the booths that semi-circled the main area, ordering bottle after bottle of wine, hard liquor, and soju. Taking in everything, Jungkook was startled when a hand roughly landed on his shoulder, causing the raven haired Korean to quickly turn and find Namjoon, signaling to follow him. Jungkook silently nodded and followed Namjoon through the thick menagerie of people, as they made their way to the hallway leading to the private rooms. “There seems to be a lot of people tonight,” Jungkook commented, turning to look over his shoulder at the dance floor again.

“250 to be exact,” Namjoon stated. “Not bad for a Thursday, considering college finals are coming up soon; however we can always do better. There’s always room for improvements Jungkook, remember that.” Reaching the end of the hallway, Namjoon knocked on the door of Bangtan’s private room, before Yoongi opened up, letting Namjoon and Jungkook join himself and Taehyung inside.

“They just called and said they were on their way,” Yoongi informed as Namjoon made himself a drink at the small bar in the room.

“Good, I’m not worried, they always show up,” Namjoon replied before sitting down on one of the couches. “I made sure Jungkook was up to date on the Park brothers’ background.”

“Does he also know that they are two of the most important clients we have and to not do anything that would fuck up our relationship with them?” Yoongi wondered as he shot Jungkook an almost threatening look.

Jungkook returned the look in a subtle manner before Namjoon responded “Don’t worry Suga, Jungkook is smart, he knows what to say and what not to say.”

“Still, it’d be better if he didn’t say shit,” Yoongi grumbled as he sat down on the opposing couch next to Taehyung, casually draping an arm around the blonde’s shoulders. Jungkook glanced over at Taehyung and could see his nervous expression and what seemed to be his body trembling as he observed Yoongi’s fingertips lightly stroke up and down his arm. He knew Taehyung was terrified of Yoongi, but sadly Jungkook was limited for the time being as to what he could do about it.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. “Yeah?” Namjoon called, craning his head back to the door.

“The Park brothers are here, and they’ve brought a friend,” Jimin informed from the other side of the door.

“Send them in,” Namjoon instructed as he set his drink down and stood up, while Jungkook, Yoongi, and Taehyung followed their leader’s actions. The door opened up and Jungkook watched as three young Korean men walk in, Jungkook speculating they couldn’t be any older than thirty. The three men walked up to Namjoon with smiles, as Namjoon greeted two of them with handshakes. “Park Seo Joon, Park Hyung-sik; a pleasure as always,” Namjoon greeted.

“It’s nice to see you too Namjoon,” Seo Joon replied. “Sorry for the delay in our arrival, we picked up our friend along the way. We’ve been telling him about your wonderful establishment for months, and now he’s interested in trying and possibly purchasing.”

“Nice to meet you, Kim Namjoon,” the Korean man introduced as he shook the hand of the Park brothers’ friend.

“Park Bo Gum,” the raven haired Korean man said. “I’ve heard from my friends that this is the place to get some interesting treats; they tell me they are never disappointed with your products and constantly rave about the impeccable service.”

“Thank you, we always take care of our patrons to the best of our ability,” Namjoon replied before offering the three men a seat on one of the couches, before moving to make them each a drink. As Jungkook sat down in a chair, he looked over at Taehyung and saw that his face had almost been drained of color as he and Yoongi shook hands with the three Park men before taking a seat on the opposite couch. “So Park Bo Gum, how did you meet these two crazy bastards?” Namjoon jokingly wondered, handing each of the Park men a glass of liquor, as they laughed quietly at the playful banter.

“We met at a charity event my parents hosted several years ago,” Bo Gum stated. “They always like to do shit like that, keeps their image nice.”

“What line of work are your parents in?” Namjoon inquired.

“They own and run the popular clothing brand, Love Yourself; my father is the CEO and my mother was the top fashion designer for many years before finally retiring from that, and now serves as the company’s top fashion consultant,” Bo Gum explained.

“Ah, your family does the Love Yourself brand, my friends and I are fans of your family’s work; we buy many of our suits from that company,” Namjoon informed.

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to pass along the message,” Bo Gum replied before sipping his drink.

“So are you keen to take over the business after your parents retire?” Namjoon wondered.

“No, I have no interest in the business end of fashion, I instead would rather model it, which is what I’ve been doing for the past five years,” Bo Gum said. “I model some of the men’s attire that the company produces, and in return, my parents pay for me an apartment, as well as a monthly allowance of fifty million won.”

“I’d say you’re doing well for a man in his late twenties,” Namjoon noted. 

“Hey Namjoon, who’s the new guy?” Hyung-sik wondered as he looked over at Jungkook.

“Yeah, we’ve never seen him before,” Seo Joon added.

“Oh yes, how could I forget?” Namjoon responded as he stood up and walked over to Jungkook and placed a hand on his shoulder. “This is Jeon Jungkook, he’s the baby brother of Bangtan. We thought we’d lost him five years ago when he just vanished out of nowhere, but yesterday he came back to us after some time away to think about his life choices. Now we are training him to learn the rules of the game and how everything works in this business; he’s smart, so I’m confident Jungkook will be a good at whatever we assign him to do. Now since this is your first time here Park Bo Gum, I will need you to fill out some confidential paperwork before any deals are made, standard procedure of course, these two had to do it as well.”

“Absolutely,” Bo Gum agreed before downing the rest of his drink and standing up.

Turning to Yoongi, Namjoon requested “While I get Bo Gum added into our files, will you and Taehyung take care of the Park brothers until I get back?”

“We’ll take good care of them, right Tae?” Yoongi muttered, squeezing the back of Taehyung’s neck.

The blonde forced a smile up at Namjoon before saying “Of course."

Jungkook had an uneasy feeling, but couldn’t before he could say something, Namjoon called “Jungkook, come with me, I’ll show you the proper procedures for new clientele.”

“Sure Namjoon,” Jungkook replied, eyes still fixed on Taehyung’s pale, anxious expression before reluctantly he followed Namjoon and Bo Gum out of the room, closing the door behind them.

“Now that we’re alone, did you get the stuff we asked for?” Seo Joon wondered as he rubbed his hands together excitedly.

“As always,” Yoongi agreed, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out three gram bags of white powder. “Pure Columbian white powder. These are just the testers, to give you a little preview of your big order.” Seo Joon and Hyung-sik grinned and sat up straighter as Yoongi tossed the bags onto the table in front of them. As the brothers picked up the small baggies, Yoongi leaned over to Taehyung and whispered “Why don’t you go get yourself ready?”

“Suga, please, I –” Taehyung began before stopping as Yoongi roughly grabbed his hair and yanked him closer.

“Is that backtalk I hear?” Yoongi growled under his breath.

“No,” Taehyung sighed quietly before standing up.

“Make sure Jungkook doesn’t see you, understand?” Yoongi ordered as Taehyung gripped the door handle.

“Yes Suga,” Taehyung agreed before exiting the room.

Hyung-sik and Seo Joon opened up the baggies and poured out the powder onto the glass table in front of them before dividing the cocaine up into three lines before Yoongi handed each of the brothers a small straw. “Alright gentlemen, let’s see how this batch turned out,” Yoongi suggested before the three men each snorted up a line of the pure cocaine.

Sitting up and leaning back, the Park brothers began to feel the effects kick in, in only a few short moments. “Wow,” Seo Joon muttered.

“Holy shit Suga, you gotta get us more like now,” Hyung-sik requested.

Reaching behind the couch, Yoongi pulled out four kilo sized bags of cocaine. “Just call me Tony fucking Montana boys,” he laughed before tossing the bags to the brothers.

“Now this is some good shit,” Seo Joon said as he created three more lines on the table, before licking away the excess white residue that clung to his fingertips.

“Suga you always come through man, every fucking time,” Hyung-sik continued. “That’s why we come see you guys every week.”

Leaning down, the three men snorted another line each before Seo Joon asked “So what’s the damage Suga, how much do we owe you?”

Yoongi sat up and wiped away some residue from his face before figuring “Well, four kilos of pure cocaine from Columbia; I’d say about 2.5 million won is fair. 1.5 million for the drugs, and another million for the additional fee of requesting Taehyung for thirty minutes.”

“Namjoon still doesn’t know you let us fuck him every week, right?” Seo Joon inquired.

“Of course not, Namjoon thinks he knows everything but that motherfucker doesn’t know shit; and I’ve got Taehyung wrapped around my finger so I know he won’t tell,” Yoongi informed. “But as long as you guys are willing to pay a little extra every week, he’s all yours.”

“Speaking of Taehyung, where is he?” Hyung-sik wondered, leaning down to snort another line.

“Yeah, we could use something sweet right about now,” Seo Joon added.

“He should be here any minute; he just wants to look nice for you guys,” Yoongi responded. As soon as Yoongi finished his statement, there came a knock at the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me Suga,” Taehyung quietly informed.

“Speak of the devil,” Yoongi laughed, standing up and sauntering over to the door, opening it up, and yanking Taehyung inside. He led the blonde over to the couch opposite of the Park brothers and forced him to sit down before walking over to another table and picking up a small syringe. Sitting down next to Taehyung, Yoongi gently rubbed the back of Taehyung’s neck, whispering how everything was going to be okay, as he subtly slipped up Taehyung’s shirt slightly, pushing the syringe needle into the blonde’s abdomen, injecting him with a clear liquid. “It’s okay Tae, this will make everything feel good. You like to feel good right? You like how it makes you feel euphoric right?”

The drug that Yoongi had injected him with was beginning to work as Taehyung sleepily muttered “E-euphoric . . . Jungkook . . . my . . . euphoria.”

Hearing Taehyung mumble Jungkook’s name caused Yoongi to roughly bite his own tongue, but instead forced the dizzy and semi-conscious to his feet, marching him over to stand next to the brothers. “Take an extra fifteen minutes tonight, on me,” Yoongi offered before handing condoms to both of the Park brothers.

“You’re the best Suga,” Hyung-sik replied before Yoongi left the room. Taehyung closed his eyes and felt the drug take full control of his body as the Park brothers lay the blonde down on one of the couches and begin to pull his clothes off.

Meanwhile, in the main area of BT21, patrons were still dancing and drinking and enjoying their Thursday night, as Namjoon, Jungkook, and Bo Gum observed from a private booth in the corner. “I hope we get to do business together for many years to come,” Namjoon said as he poured three shots of soju.

“I hope so as well,” Bo Gum agreed as the three men clinked their shot glasses before downing the liquor.

“Jungkook, is everything alright? You’ve been very quiet all night,” Namjoon noticed as he turned to the raven haired Korean.

“I’m fine Namjoon, I’m just listening and taking everything in,” Jungkook responded. This was only partially true; in actuality, Jungkook’s mind had been on Taehyung ever since they left him alone with Yoongi and the Park brothers. Jungkook’s eyes scanned the room before noticing Yoongi emerging from the hallway that led back to the private rooms, only Taehyung wasn’t with them.

“Jungkook?” Namjoon asked as he watched the raven haired Korean quickly shoot up from the table.

“Where’s Tae at?” Jungkook demanded as he walked up to Yoongi.

“What the fuck does it matter to you where he’s at?” Yoongi questioned. “He’s busy working right now, something you should consider doing if you’re serious about being here. Fucking try to help the business, and quit trying to talk to Taehyung alone, if you really care about him.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Jungkook wondered.

“That means he knows the consequences of what will happen if I find out that you two were alone together again,” Yoongi replied. “I don’t trust you as far as I can spit, and I won’t tolerate you coming in here acting like the last five years didn’t happen. They did happen, and things are different now, so fucking deal with it, Taehyung isn’t yours anymore, so I suggest you move the fuck on.”

“Taehyung is afraid of you, any person with eyes and fucking common sense can see that; we still love one another Suga, and no matter how much you threaten him or me, I will not let you hurt him anymore; I will not watch as you continue to shatter what’s left of his soul,” Jungkook stated through gritted teeth as he felt his fingers curl into a loose fist.

“It won’t matter anyway once I prove that you have ulterior motives. You may have convinced Namjoon and the rest of the fucking group that you’re still the same sweet, innocent baby Jungkook, but I know that’s a fucking lie. You’re hiding something, and once I expose that to Namjoon that you’re nothing more than a lying sack of shit, I’ll put a fucking bullet right between your eyes with Namjoon’s blessing,” Yoongi growled, taking a step closer to Jungkook. A malevolent smirk appeared across Yoongi’s face as he added “And once you’re taken care of, Taehyung will have no choice but to crawl back on his knees and beg me to forgive him for straying. But that’s where I usually keep him anyway, on his knees like the bitch he really is.”

Almost out of instinct, Jungkook’s fist tightened as he swung his arm and punched Yoongi in the mouth, sending him back against the wall. Yoongi wiped his lips and saw the blood on his fingers before retaliating against Jungkook, punching him in the face. Before another blow could be dealt, Jungkook heard Namjoon demand “What the fuck is going on here?!” The next thing the raven haired Korean knew, J-Hope was pulling him away from Yoongi, while Jimin was gripping one of Yoongi’s arms. “What the fuck are you two doing? We have customers here, and you two wanna act like fucking children?! Suga, what happened?”

“Nothing Namjoon, just a little misunderstanding,” Yoongi replied, eyes glaring towards Jungkook.

“Yeah, a misunderstanding,” Jungkook muttered as he kept his eyes glued on Yoongi.

“Alright, you know the rules, any fighting of any kind, and you go home for the rest of the night; but take separate cars,” Namjoon stated, his voice returning to its calm demeanor. “We’ll talk about this more later.”

Jungkook nodded as Yoongi just stormed off. “Dude, what the fuck happened?” J-Hope asked once Yoongi was out of earshot range.

“He started talking about Taehyung, and I don’t know, I just, the look in his eye when he degraded Taehyung, _my_ Taehyung, I just lost control,” Jungkook stammered.

“I know, you guys were so close for so many years, it’s normal to still have that desire to protect someone you’ve loved for so long,” J-Hope agreed.

“I’m gonna go check on Taehyung and then head back to the house, I’ll see you guys later,” Jungkook said before walking down the hallway.

J-Hope and Jimin watched him leave before Jimin asked “You think this is gonna end well?”

“Yeah, just not for everybody,” J-Hope answered.

When Jungkook reached Bangtan’s private room, he gently knocked on the door before stepping back as the door opened up, revealing the Park brothers. “What is it?” Hyung-sik questioned.

Looking at their eyes and body language, Jungkook knew they were definitely high at the moment. “Is Taehyung still in here?” he inquired.

“Hell no, Suga came and took him home away,” Seo Joon informed.

Hoping that he’d taken Taehyung back to the house, Jungkook rushed out of the back door to where Bangtan’s cars were waiting and saw that there was one less vehicle. Climbing into the backseat of one of the SUVs, Jungkook requested to be taken back to the house, as the driver nodded and took off almost immediately. Once he reached the house, Jungkook searched all over the first floor, but couldn’t find Taehyung or Yoongi. Going up to the second floor, there was only Jin in his computer room. “Hey Jungkook, you’re back early,” he greeted.

“Jin, have you seen Taehyung or Suga within the past half hour?” Jungkook asked.

“Yeah, they passed by like fifteen minutes ago, headed upstairs to the bedrooms,” Jin informed.

“Alright thanks,” Jungkook replied before hurrying over to the elevator, practically slamming his keycard against the black square in order to gain access. After riding up to the third floor, Jungkook ran over to Taehyung’s bedroom door and began knocking on it repeatedly. “Taehyung, Tae it’s me, please open the door,” he quietly begged. After several moments of silence, Jungkook knocked again. “Taehyung please, I need to make sure you’re okay.”

Before he could knock again, a door opened up, only it wasn’t Taehyung’s bedroom door, but Yoongi’s. “You never learn do you?” Yoongi asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.

“Where is he Suga?” Jungkook inquired.

“He’s in here with me, where he should be,” Yoongi stated.

“Let me just see him for a minute, I wanna make sure he’s okay,” Jungkook requested.

“He’s fine, I’ve got him taken care of,” Yoongi responded. Craning his head back, Yoongi called “Taehyung, tell Jungkook you’re good.”

Almost inaudibly, Taehyung mumbled “I’m okay Jungkook.”

“See?” Yoongi sneered.

“Bullshit, I don’t buy that for one second, he sounds scared,” Jungkook said as he took a step closer to Yoongi’s room.

“He’s just tired from tonight; he’ll be better in the morning,” Yoongi replied before shutting his bedroom door in Jungkook’s face. Jungkook wanted more than anything to barge into Yoongi’s room and get Taehyung out of there, even if just for the night, but remembered that the bedrooms could only be accessed by specific keycards. Sighing, Jungkook was left with no other option than to retire to his room. Looking outside, Jungkook gazed at the lit city of Gangnam in the near distance and then down at the florescent-lit pool on the second level. Thinking he could help ease his mind with a swim, Jungkook grabbed a towel out of his bathroom before heading down to the second floor.

“You did really good tonight Tae, made us an extra million in only forty five minutes, not bad,” Yoongi commented as he grabbed a bottle of soju out of a small fridge in his room.

Taehyung however didn’t respond, he was sitting curled up on a chaise lounge, head leaning against the glass window wall, looking outside at the city. The effects of the drugs that Yoongi had given him had finally worn off, and Taehyung could pain throughout his body that he’d sustained during his ‘private meeting’ with the Park brothers. Sadly though, Taehyung had experienced this pain many times before, but still could never get used to the feeling. Rubbing his shoulder, he winced as he felt a bite mark that one of the brothers had marred his body with. This wasn’t the first time though, and he knew he couldn’t complain to Yoongi, all he would say is that they were just having a bit of playful fun. There was really no one Taehyung could talk about it with, afraid of what Yoongi would do to him. As he rubbed his shoulder, Taehyung let his fingers trail over to the side of his neck as he remembered earlier that afternoon when Jungkook had kissed him there. Closing his eyes, Taehyung exhaled as he thought back to many years ago when he and Jungkook were being intimate. Taehyung could remember exactly how it felt having Jungkook on top of him, his lips grazing across his skin with every kiss he planted, his fingertips dancing across every dip and curve of his body, and he remembered hearing Jungkook sweetly whisper how much he loved Taehyung and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Taehyung. These memories caused the blonde to let out an involuntary moan as he sighed “Jungkook.”

Immediately, Yoongi’s head shot up. “What the fuck did you say?” he demanded.

Quickly, Taehyung opened his eyes and lied “I said come look; I can see lightning in the distance.”

“So what, it’s lightning, get over it, it’s part of nature,” Yoongi groaned before taking another swig of soju.

Relieved he’d been able to dodge a potential beating from Yoongi, Taehyung turned back to glance outside before noticing that Jungkook was standing next to the pool. Subtly, Taehyung sat up straighter as he watched Jungkook slip his shirt off; Jungkook had always been attractive in Taehyung’s eyes, but now he was even more beautiful. Taehyung could make out thick bicep muscles that could pick him up with ease, and a toned torso supported by a six pack on his abdomen. After five years without seeing Jungkook’s body, Taehyung bit his lower lip as he mentally wished for Jungkook to hurry and remove the rest of his clothes so he could see any other bodily improvements. Part of Taehyung’s wish came true as Jungkook undid his belt and let his jeans fall down and to his ankles before stepping out of them, but left his boxers on, unknowingly displaying to Taehyung his leg muscles and strong thighs. Jungkook turned and dove into the pool, beginning to do laps back and forth casually, stopping only to float on his back and gaze at the stars. How Taehyung would’ve loved to have gone down there and joined Jungkook and hopefully have let it lead to something more, but with Yoongi’s ever watchful eye, Taehyung knew that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. After a few minutes of swimming, Jungkook stepped out of the pool, slicking back his drenched hair as he wiped the water from his face. Glancing up at the house, Jungkook’s eyes landed on Yoongi’s bedroom window, where he saw Taehyung staring at him. Smiling up at him, Jungkook gave a small wave to Taehyung as his heart beat increased when Taehyung returned his wave. But Jungkook’s smile quickly vanished when he saw Yoongi appear behind Taehyung and glance out the window to see him. Jungkook could see the anger in Yoongi’s eyes, even from where he was, which caused him to hold his breath as he watched Yoongi close the shades of the bedroom window, obscuring Jungkook and Taehyung’s views of each other. Sighing, Jungkook dried himself off before grabbing his clothes and heading back up to his room for the night.

The next morning, Jungkook was the first one awake, going downstairs to find that there was no one else on the first floor yet. Walking into the large kitchen, Jungkook went to the refrigerator and pulled out some orange juice before pouring himself a glass. He took a sip before hearing footsteps approaching the kitchen. Jungkook froze when he saw Taehyung appear in the entryway, and upon seeing Jungkook, Taehyung froze as well. “Good morning,” Jungkook gently greeted.

“Good morning,” Taehyung nervously echoed, looking over his shoulder to make sure Yoongi wasn’t nearby.

“How are you feeling today?” Jungkook wondered.

“I-I’m okay,” Taehyung said.

“Tae, what happened in that room last night after I left?” Jungkook inquired.

“Nothing, it was nothing Jungkook, nothing out of the ordinary,” Taehyung muttered.

“Taehyung, please don’t lie to me, I wanna help you, I want to make you feel safe again,” Jungkook pleaded quietly as he slowly walked up to Taehyung. This time, the blonde didn’t try to run away like yesterday. Placing a hand gently on Taehyung’s face, Jungkook leaned forward and kissed Taehyung’s cheek, whispering “Please, let me protect you.”

Hearing Jungkook whisper in his ear like that sent shivers up and down Taehyung’s spine as he allowed himself to wrap his arms around Jungkook’s neck, wanting him closer, not caring at the moment if Yoongi saw and punished him. Jungkook slid his hands up Taehyung’s back, pulling him into his embrace as the two kissed before Jungkook took a step forward, pressing Taehyung’s back against the wall. “Please,” Taehyung cried, taking Jungkook’s face in his hands. “Please don’t leave me again Jungkook.”

“Never,” Jungkook breathed out before passionately kissing Taehyung’s lips as his hands gently, but firmly grabbed the blonde’s waist. Jungkook slid his fingertips up underneath Taehyung’s shirt to brush across his ribs as Taehyung moaned into his mouth.

Slipping his arms back around the raven haired Korean, Taehyung muttered with tears rolling down his face “Jungkook, my Jungkook.” He then buried his face in Jungkook’s neck, crying quietly.

Holding Taehyung close, Jungkook shushed him quietly, caressing his back with his fingertips. “It’s alright Tae, I’m right here, I’ve got you,” he promised, pressing a kiss to the blonde’s hair.

Jungkook wished he could always keep Taehyung wrapped up tightly in his arms like this where he knew he’d be safe and loved, but sadly, the moment between them was once again cut short by Yoongi’s voice echoing throughout the house “Taehyung? Taehyung, you in the kitchen?”

Quickly, Taehyung was forced to leave Jungkook’s warm, protective embrace as he fixed himself and dried his eyes before putting as much distance in between himself and Jungkook before Yoongi entered the kitchen. “I’m in here Suga,” Taehyung quietly called.

“There you are, I’ve been looking for –” Yoongi started before seeing Jungkook was in there as well. “What are you doing in here with him?”

“I just came in to get some juice is all,” Jungkook replied, picking up his glass and sipping the orange liquid. “If you’re worried about if something happened between us, don’t be; Taehyung made his feelings very clear about what he wanted, and I love him, so I can respect his decision.”

Taehyung smiled at how Jungkook was able to cover for them, and even more so now that Yoongi draped an arm around his shoulders and said “Well good, it’s about time you got that through your fucking head. I still don’t trust you though.”

“Fair enough,” Jungkook responded before taking his glass and leaving Yoongi and Taehyung alone in the kitchen, happy that his lie had seemingly convinced Yoongi for the time being.

A little later in the morning, after breakfast had ended, Namjoon said “Jungkook, every Friday we practice our hand to hand combat and our gun drills to make sure our self-defense is always at the top of its game. Have you had any training outside of military training?”

“No not really, I mean I still remember some things from the military, but I can always a refresher session,” Jungkook lied.

“Wonderful, let’s get started,” Namjoon suggested as he and the rest of Bangtan rose to their feet. Jungkook followed the group as they walked through the living room to the back of the house where a large door sat. After unlocking it, they all seven stepped inside; Jungkook looked around and saw just how huge this room was. At the far end of the room were targets that were used for shooting practice, and along the wall was a table with guns, and next to that a table full of weapons that could be used in hand to hand combat, brass knuckles, knives, cattle prods, things like that. Jungkook was familiar with all of these weapons; he had been trained extensively in what all they could do and where was best to strike if necessary when he was in the police academy. “What shall we do first gentlemen, hand to hand or gun training?”

“Hand to hand,” Yoongi immediately said, as Jungkook noticed his eyes were fixed on him.

“Very well Suga, since you are so eager to get started, you go first; pick an opponent that’s not Jungkook,” Namjoon instructed.

“Why the fuck can’t I pick him?” Yoongi demanded.

“Because I fucking said so,” Namjoon firmly stated.

Yoongi huffed before reluctantly grumbling “Fine, I pick Jimin.”

Jimin smiled before standing up to join Yoongi in the middle of the room as the rest of Bangtan stood off to the side. “Pay close attention to how each member fights Jungkook,” Namjoon muttered. “It’s always important to pay attention to your opponent’s weaknesses and advantages; even the smallest tick can be an indication of what they might do.”

Jungkook nodded as he watched Jimin and Yoongi begin their fight. He observed all of Yoongi’s moves and countermoves, as well as Jimin’s, and began to pick up on what each could improve on, but also what both were good at. Yoongi was aggressive with his attacks and forceful, attacking for the chest and face first, but Jimin always attacked the legs first. Jimin managed to get Yoongi down on the ground rather quickly, climbing on top of him to pin him down. But as he raised his fist up to punch Yoongi, he paused, unable to do it. This small window gave Yoongi the chance flip Jimin and pin him down as he questioned “Why didn’t you hit me, you had the perfect chance, why didn’t you take it?” he wondered.

“I didn’t want to hurt you Suga,” Jimin replied before securing his legs around Yoongi’s waist, holding their bodies firmly together as Jimin rolled over to where he was back on top of Yoongi.

Yoongi kicked Jimin roughly in the stomach, sending him flying back a few feet before they both caught their breath. “Don’t do that shit anymore,” Yoongi demanded as he stood up. “Get rid of that weakness or else it’ll get you fucking killed some day.”

“You know best Suga,” Jimin responded coughing to get his air back before J-Hope helped him to his feet.

“That round goes to Suga, Jimin, remember what Suga says; you’ve had this problem for four years, and you still need to fix it,” Namjoon noted.

“Yes Namjoon,” Jimin promised.

As J-Hope and Taehyung began their fight next, Jungkook leaned over to Jin and asked quietly “Is there another way you can make me an extra room keycard for my room?”

“Yeah no problem, I’ll go make it after we practice,” Jin confirmed. He then whispered “Just make sure Suga doesn’t find out.”

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” Jungkook replied before they both turned back just in time to see J-Hope pin Taehyung to the mat.

“That round goes to J-Hope; Taehyung, you need to fix your leg strength, J-Hope had an advantage on you in that area,” Namjoon suggested.

“Yes Namjoon,” Taehyung said as he and J-Hope stood up.

“Jin, Jungkook, let me see what you got,” Namjoon encouraged as the two final Bangtan members took their place on the mat.

As Jungkook fought against Jin, he followed Namjoon’s advice and watched every move Jin made and paid attention to find any indication that Jin could be displaying weakness. Finally, Jungkook figured it out; Jin was a combination of Jimin and J-Hope, attacking legs with his own legs, letting himself look down at his opponent’s legs for a quick second as he attacked. Jungkook watched closely for the next window to open up, and as soon as Jin’s eyes began glancing downward, Jungkook took the opportunity to hook Jin around the torso and flip him onto the ground on his stomach, before pinning him there with a knee firmly in the middle of his back. Looking up at Namjoon, Jungkook saw the leader smiling at him. “Impressive Jungkook, you followed my advice,” he commented as Jungkook helped Jin to his feet.

“Big deal, Jin’s the easiest one to beat in the group,” Yoongi argued. “Why don’t you fight me now?”

“Suga,” Namjoon firmly started.

“It’s fine Namjoon, if I have to prove myself to him I will,” Jungkook replied. “Alright Suga, I’ll fight you, if that’s what you want.”

“It’s exactly what I fucking want, I want Tae to watch me beat the shit out of you,” Yoongi revealed.

“We’ll see,” Jungkook muttered as Yoongi joined him on the mat, while Taehyung looked on nervously. 

“Suga, fight by the rules,” Namjoon firmly ordered.

“Don’t worry Namjoon, I won’t bruise him too badly,” Yoongi promised. “C’mon you little shit, I’ve wanted to kick your ass ever since you showed back up here.” Jungkook watched as Yoongi slipped a pair of the brass knuckles onto his hands.

Remembering what how he had seen Yoongi attack Jimin, Jungkook grabbed for Yoongi’s wrists as he rushed Jungkook. Yoongi stomped on Jungkook’s foot, making Jungkook loosen his grip on one of Yoongi’s wrists, allowing Yoongi to in turn punch Jungkook in the jaw with the brass knuckles. Taehyung’s eyes widened as he watched Jungkook spit out a little bit of blood. “Suga,” Namjoon warned.

“What, can’t the baby handle a little punch?” Yoongi mocked as he raised his fist to punch Jungkook again, only for Jungkook to block him and deliver a sharp kick to his groin. Yoongi inhaled rapidly, not expecting Jungkook to do that. “Motherfucker,” Yoongi growled, kneeling down in pain for a second. Reaching behind himself, Yoongi grabbed a gun from his pants and pointed it right at Jungkook. “That’s how we’re gonna play?”

“Suga,” Namjoon said again as he stood up slowly.

“Where’d you learn to fight at? No one moves that quickly without prior training? Tell me right fucking now,” Yoongi threatened, extending his arm and placing the gun about two inches from Jungkook’s face.

Silence befell the room, as everyone held their breath. Jungkook was prepared though, he’d trained for this in the academy. Taking a breath, Jungkook rapidly grabbed Yoongi’s wrist, twisting and squeezing it, causing Yoongi to loosen his grip on the gun and allow Jungkook to grab it and turn it back to face him. The Bangtan members dropped their jaws, all expect for Namjoon, who grinned with a proud smirk. “That’s enough now,” Namjoon ordered, as Jungkook lowered the gun. “Jungkook, well done for keeping calm and disarming your opponent; Suga, you know better than to let your anger blind you during fighting. Let’s move onto gun drills.” Jungkook and Yoongi kept their eyes locked as Jungkook handed Yoongi his gun back, only for Yoongi to snatch it and walk away.

After practice ended, Jungkook stood in the kitchen with a bag of ice against his face from where Yoongi had punched him earlier. “Jungkook,” Jin called as he entered the room. Turning, Jungkook held out his hand as Jin presented him with a second keycard.

“Thanks Jin, I really appreciate this,” Jungkook said.

“No problem, just don’t let Suga find out, he’ll kill both of us,” Jin muttered.

“You got it,” Jungkook nodded.

Later that afternoon, Taehyung returned up to the third level of the house and opened his bedroom door before noticing an envelope on the ground. Kneeling down, Taehyung picked it up and turned it over, where he read the message, ‘For when you need to feel safe again’ –JK

Opening up the envelope, Taehyung tipped it over and allowed a keycard to fall out and into his hand. Understanding what Jungkook had done for him, Taehyung held the keycard close to his chest and closed his eyes as tears welled, knowing what this meant; Jungkook was serious about staying.


End file.
